: HÖRMANN Warnsysteme develops new siren control system for digital radio communications
The latest generation of the TSE902 remote control unit from HÖRMANN Warnsysteme GmbH is the product of ten years of expertise in the TETRA digital radio standard. TETRA stands for Terrestrial Trunked Radio and allows emergency services such as the police, fire service and ambulance service to communicate with each other securely and reliably.
During development, the team from HÖRMANN Warnsysteme worked closely with the committees of Germany’s Federal Agency for Public Safety Digital Radio (BDBOS) and Bundesverband Professioneller Mobilfunk e.V., an association for suppliers and users of mobile radio communication equipment. The current requirements and recommendations of the two institutions have been implemented in the new remote control unit. The equipment can also be integrated in future elements of the federal government’s modular alert system.
Elevated interception prevention
‘Digital radio is indispensable for any government agency or organisation dealing with public safety these days,’ said Harald Rickmeyer, product manager for the TSE902 at HÖRMANN Warnsysteme. ‘Digital radio networks are more secure and more reliable and offer better transmission quality than analogue networks,’ added Johannes Antoni, managing director of HÖRMANN Warnsysteme. HÖRMANN Warnsysteme developed its first siren control unit for TETRA in 2009 – the TSE901. Its successor, the TSE902, has been on the market since 2020 having undergone a root-and-branch redevelopment process.
Bidirectional communication over the TETRA network enables the sirens not only to be triggered but also to report their activation or their availability to the relevant control centre. This makes the alert system more secure.
Compact design
The new TETRA siren control system features a compact design. Consequently, the TSE902 does not need much space to be installed.
Smart priority control is an important aspect of the transition from analogue and digital unidirectional radio networks to the TETRA standard. This enables both mixed operation and redundancy in the system and ensures that the sirens will not be out of action for long during the changeover. Moreover, with the TSE902, control centres are no longer tied down to manufacturer-specific transmission and triggering systems.
HÖRMANN Warnsysteme develops and produces the TETRA remote control unit in-house. Any panoramic measurements required for registering the locations are offered as optional services.
Digital radio in Europe
In addition to Germany, there are now 15 other European countries operating nationwide TETRA networks, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Other European countries such as Austria, Italy and Croatia are currently setting up their networks. The German digital radio network is the largest of its type in the world.
TETRA has been established as the dominant standard in Europe, serving as the basis for the radio networks of the various emergency services, primarily because it was developed specifically for the specialist requirements of government agencies and organisations dealing with public safety.
